Marram Ventures launches as standalone healthcare VC firm

Marram Ventures has spun out from The 4100 Group as an independent healthcare venture capital firm, with about $80 million in assets under management or advisement and a focus on whole-person care. The firm says it has deployed $25 million in the past 24 months and will keep backing Seed through Series B companies across physical, mental and oral health.

Why it matters: - Marram Ventures is formalizing a thesis around “Care Convergence,” aiming to back companies that treat physical, mental and oral health as one system. - The independent structure gives the firm more focus and dedicated capital as healthcare venture stays competitive for high-conviction seed and growth deals. - The move also matters for limited partners tied to the original strategy, because Marram says the new setup strengthens its ability to pursue that mandate.

What happened: - Marram Ventures announced its launch as a standalone venture capital firm after the transition of Arcis Fund I and related investment management activities from The 4100 Group. - The firm now manages committed capital through Arcis Fund I and advises on additional venture and healthcare investments at The 4100 Group. - Marram says that represents about $80 million in total assets under management or advisement. - The firm is led by Scott Lancaster, MD, MBA, and Mariya Filipova, MBA. - Marram operates from Michigan and Cambridge, Massachusetts. - The firm invests $1 million to $3 million checks in Seed through Series B companies.

The details: - Marram’s portfolio has seen $25 million deployed in the past 24 months, according to the firm. - Lancaster is a radiologist turned venture investor. - Lancaster started investing at Spectrum Health Ventures, where he backed Gauss Surgical, Ciitizen and Vynca. - Gauss Surgical was acquired by Stryker in a $160 million exit. - Ciitizen was acquired by Invitae in a $325 million exit. - Lancaster later built and led the venture platform at The 4100 Group. - Filipova was vice president of innovation at Anthem, now Elevance Health. - Filipova also previously worked as managing director at Deloitte and as an analyst at Barclays Capital. - Marram’s current portfolio includes Clarapath, Proclaim, and Root Functional Medicine. - Clarapath raised a $36 million Series B from investors including Mayo Clinic, Northwell Health and Ochsner. - Proclaim, also described as Fresh Health, raised an oversubscribed Series B led by Khosla Ventures. - Root Functional Medicine recently raised a Series A led by HealthX Ventures. - Marram will continue supporting existing portfolio companies while pursuing new investments aligned with its thesis. - The firm’s website is Marram Ventures. - The 4100 Group’s website is The 4100 Group. - Marram’s LinkedIn page is Marram Ventures on LinkedIn.

Between the lines: - The spinout separates Marram’s healthcare-focused investing from the broader platform at The 4100 Group while keeping a strategic connection between the two organizations. - The firm is leaning into a niche that combines clinical experience, payer insight and operational experience, which may help it source founders working across fragmented parts of care delivery. - The portfolio mix suggests Marram is targeting companies that can sell into large healthcare systems and insurers, not just consumer health startups.

What's next: - Marram plans to keep deploying capital into founders reconnecting what it sees as a fragmented healthcare system. - The firm will support current portfolio companies and look for new Seed to Series B investments that fit the whole-person healthcare thesis. - Marram says the standalone structure will help it back more founders and deliver returns to limited partners over time.

The bottom line: - Marram Ventures is betting that a focused, physician-led healthcare fund can turn a systems-based thesis into durable returns.